Shanghai (ZXZC)-China's annual sales of new energy vehicle (NEV), which are made up of battery electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, are likely to reach around 5 million units next year, accounting for over 20% of the country’s total auto sales, Ouyang Minggao, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Science and the Executive Vice President of the China EV100, said on Dec. 2 at a media briefing.

He said the full-year NEV sales in China are expected to be about 3.3 million units this year.

Wuling Hongguang MINIEV; photo credit: SGWM

As for the estimation for longer terms, China's yearly NEV sales are anticipated to hit 7 million to 10 million units in 2025, and further grow to 17 million to 20 million units in 2030, Mr. Ouyang noted.

NEV sales in China, the world’s biggest auto market, are forecasted to grow to 20% of overall new vehicle sales by 2025, China’s State Council said in November last year in a policy paper as part of the release of the country's 14th five-year plan through to 2025.

For the first ten months of 2021, the China’s NEV sales surged 176.6% year on year to 2.542 million units, contributing to 12.12% of the country’s total auto sales, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

On a monthly basis, NEVs accounted for over 17% of total auto sales in August, September, and October, according to the CAAM’s data.